Our family is in decline

Although the lord gave him great authority to train artillery at any cost, in fact Patton knew very well that there were not many artillery troops that could be dispatched now.

It's not that Hamlet has no one, or that he can't teach well, it's simply that he has too few cannons, making it difficult to practice.

How can it be possible for the gunner to find the feeling to correct the ballistic trajectory if he takes turns like this?

And now there are only three guns, two large-caliber ones are placed at the port to guard against pirates at any time, and only one small-caliber one is left for training.

In this kind of environment, even if he trains a group of artillerymen, he will still be in a situation where there is no artillery available.

There is only one way to solve this problem, and that is to solve the artillery problem.

Button has been paying attention to this issue. After arranging training, he rushed to a very special place in Hamlet.

When you get closer, you can see that the newly built workshop is right on the river. All the craftsmen have moved in, and they are finally getting rid of the previous simple and temporary environment.

You can see almost a row of wooden water machines by the river rotating rapidly, extending into the workshop through connecting devices. All that can be heard is the continuous sound of metal knocking.

The scorching sun is not good news for artillery clay molds, because once exposed to the sun, cracks will appear, which means that the entire mold will be scrapped.

Therefore, there are many straw sheds built to provide shade, but in the hot summer, the warm wind blowing on the clay molds speeds up the molding time.

Patton knew this, or he knew everything about artillery.

He inspected the clay molds and found no problems, and the progress was faster than he imagined. It is estimated that casting will be completed in a short time.

This situation gave him great comfort. After all, he had taken so many resources from the lord, but had no results, which really made him feel a little guilty.

At this time, Barton discovered that Leonard and Master Eugene were not far away, so he started to walk over.

"I'll leave this first batch of bayonets to you. I'm not sure when the next batch will be. I guess I'll have time to wait until the first few projects are completed." Master Eugene said and handed over a list. Leonard.

The bayonet project took only one month from the initial design, improvement, plan determination, manufacturing, and final product, which is considered Hamlet's amazing efficiency.

Leonard came here to sign for this batch of bayonets. After checking that they were correct, he signed his name in duplicate, and finally filed them separately for storage.

"This is only one hundred. If you want to fully equip the army, you will need at least three hundred. This does not include the losses and the training of new recruits. The gap is really too big.

The armor in stock is basically used to form cavalry. Now the army has a high demand for armor. When will Hamlet's standard armor be available to the troops? "

Leonard complained about the current situation facing the army. To put it simply, everything was lacking. The only ones that could be fully equipped with armor now were the most elite cavalry companies.

However, the armor on the cavalry is still a patchwork of universal brands, with different shapes and qualities. You can imagine what the armor rate of other troops is, usually only the squad leader or a few outstanding ones in battle. Only then.

And what about the mess of guns and ammunition consumed during training? This was enough to give him a headache.

This is because the recruits have not yet been trained. According to the schedule, the recruits will be incorporated into the army in one month. What will happen to the recruits' equipment then?

Now Leonard understands why ordinary noble lords usually only train knights. When launching wars, they directly recruit civilians, who also have to bring their own equipment and food.

He was recruited by the church at that time, and he spent all his money to equip him with a horse and a sword. After simple training, he was pushed to the battlefield.

This recruitment method indeed alleviates a lot of logistical pressure, but the price is also huge casualties. The training takes place directly on the battlefield, and those who survive are considered to have passed the training.

There is no pension system. If you die, you will die, and you can only consider yourself unlucky. Therefore, many people would rather escape into the wilderness than be drawn.

But now the lord is almost using the resources to train knights to train the army, and the resources consumed are naturally very exaggerated.

Of course, the combat effectiveness of these soldiers who can become regular soldiers is not comparable to those of serf soldiers. Everyone also has a strong enthusiasm for being a soldier. If they can be selected, they will be proud of their ancestors.

Eugene didn't react much when he heard Leonard's complaint. Obviously, this was not the first time such a conversation had occurred.

"It's not like you don't know the production capacity of our small place. This is because the Lord's improved hydraulic forging hammer has greatly reduced the workload. Otherwise, you might not have had fifty sabers from me not long ago.

Let me tell you, these one hundred bayonets are already the limit, and there is no way to press for it in a short period of time. If you want to modify the project, you can go to the lord, but it is useless to go to me. "

Eugene explained the situation directly, and what he meant was very simple.

The productivity of the workshop is like this. There are so many projects lined up, so just wait slowly.

Lance has long considered that with the development of Hamlet, the production pressure faced by the workshop will be increasing, and he has selected a number of young people to work as apprentices to assist.

But in fact the main force of the workshop now is still the skilled craftsmen brought back from Totnes.

In fact, in this era, there are also rules about not spreading some technical jobs to outsiders. After all, this is what makes a living.

In order to solve this problem, Lance could only find a way to find Winston, a skilled craftsman, to take the lead. Combined with the verification of Eugene's research institute, he compiled a simple textbook, directly writing out most of the situations that need attention. New people learn.

Even so, apprentices still need to accumulate experience, so it is difficult for novices to grow quickly.

It's difficult for Leonard, but it's not difficult for Eugene. If it’s difficult for everyone, then just do it reluctantly.

"Leonard, please don't embarrass Master Eugene. Now you can see the situation in the workshop at a glance." Barton came closer, and after hearing the two people's words, he smiled and intervened in the topic.

His artillery casting also requires the productivity of the workshop. He has been waiting for so long and cannot let anyone jump in line.

Barton's appearance undoubtedly provided Eugene with a reason to change the subject. He immediately invited the two of them: "You two happen to be here. Our institute has made some new breakthroughs recently. You two can come and give us some opinions."

Leonard and Barton looked at each other. Obviously, they didn't know about this matter. It should be a recent result, and they immediately followed curiously.

The location of the Institute, like the workshop, is far away from the bustling center of Hamlet Town.

The site was chosen on the edge of a row of masonry buildings, and further outside was a shooting range and a place for testing effects.

Without any nonsense, Eugene took the people directly to the shooting range at the back, called down the person who was originally testing it, picked up the gun and turned to look at the two people to signal.

"Try two?"

Leonard didn't understand firearms, and Barton naturally didn't hesitate. He took the gun and studied it, but he didn't see much change on it, and he couldn't help but frown.

"Master Eugene..." Barton couldn't ask clearly, so he had to make indirect gestures.

"You try it first."

After hearing this, Patton didn't waste any time. He grabbed the fixed ammunition placed aside and completed loading and firing.

The lead bullet hit the target in the distance. Although it did not hit the center, it showed his proficiency in musketry.

But even so, he still couldn't feel any improvement, and Leonard next to him couldn't wait any longer and spoke directly.

"Where is the transformation that the master mentioned?"

"Here." Eugene picked up the record book and handed it to Barton, "You should be able to understand these data."

All experiments must be recorded. Barton took it and glanced at it and roughly figured out what it was.

"The area for improvement is the propellant."

"That's right!" Eugene explained to the two of them with a smile, "This gunpowder adopts new granulation technology, and we have readjusted the proportions of the formula."

"any solution?"

Leonard is not very sensitive to technology, but Barton is a top student and is quite familiar with these. Totnes spends millions of gold coins every year without reforming gunpowder.

And Hamlet has now begun the third round of reforms and has found a direction. He no longer knows what to say.

Eugene had no intention of hiding the issue of gunpowder technology from the two of them.

"The Lord pointed out that the loose and porous structure of charcoal can absorb nitrate and sulfur to form a stable structure. This plan was actually proposed by the Lord a long time ago, but you all know that the gunpowder used now is all prepared, and only the roughest gunpowder can be used. Mix and dry in the sun.

Only recently did we get the gunpowder raw materials shipped back by the convoy. We selected high-quality charcoal and then used the liquor head, a by-product of alcohol refining, as a solvent to mix the raw materials. Finally, we crushed and screened out the appropriate particle size.

The gunpowder produced by this new technology burns more stably than the previous rough water-mixed agglomeration and then crushing. It can achieve a longer range with the same quality, and can also effectively reduce the risk of bombardment. "

"Jiu Tou?" Barton was a little confused, and his attention was more focused on the words he had never heard of.

"Oh, you may not be very clear about this. Greendale was originally responsible for this. There is too much food in the town, and it is constantly being imported. Some of the old food is almost moldy and spoiled.

In order to solve this problem, the brewing that was originally stopped by the lord was restarted. I don't know the specific situation, but it seems that the distillation technology has also been improved. The purified product is called alcohol, and the by-product is the head.

The lord said that this by-product is toxic, so it cannot be eaten and can only be used for other purposes. It happens to be a good solvent. "

When Barton heard this, he understood something. First of all, there must be a convoy to transport raw materials, and the large-scale development of the northern wilderness must produce a lot of charcoal. Finally, there must be by-products generated by the improved distillation device of brewing technology, all of which are indispensable.

The emergence of this technology did not simply appear, but occurred incidentally when enough was accumulated during the development of Hamlet.

But the shock the institute gave them was far from over.

"We also recently achieved something."

Eugene said as he opened the box on the side, took out a bomb and handed it over.

"The improvement is also about gunpowder, right?" Barton participated in the research on bombs and also participated in testing. He understood it when the thing fell on his hands.

"Yes, in fact, not only the gunpowder of muskets and artillery has also been improved, but the gunpowder formula of bombs has also been changed. I am afraid that the real effect can only be understood by seeing it with your own eyes."

As he spoke, Eugene raised his hand and pointed at the target area, gesturing for Barton to take action.

It must be said that his words also aroused the curiosity of Leonard and the other two. Button did not like to show off like Lance. He would just ignite the lead and throw it out.

The bomb flew out and landed accurately in the target area. You must know that this appeared not long ago. It was obvious that Patton had also practiced his throwing ability in private.

After waiting for about ten seconds, the bomb exploded. The power was so shocking that it overturned the ground. All the targets inserted around it were penetrated, leaving countless holes. Those who were closer were knocked down directly. .

"Why is it so powerful!"

The two of them had studied this, and the explosion's killing radius was one-third larger than the ordinary one. This was already a very terrifying effect.

"Because the recipe has been improved, sugar has been added according to the lord's request."

"Sugar?"

"Yes, we don't know the specific principle yet, but after we added powdered sugar to the explosive formula of the bomb, the power was greatly enhanced."

"These are two technologies? Then why doesn't the musket use sugar? Isn't it more powerful?" Leonard noticed a problem.

When Eugene heard this, he smiled and explained.

"I actually had a similar idea to you at the beginning, but after discussing this issue with the lord, I understood the difference between propellant and explosive. First of all, we must understand the principles of muskets and artillery as well as the concept of chamber pressure. .

To put it simply, even when a musket is fired, the energy released by the gunpowder forms a chamber pressure in a relatively sealed pipe, which continuously propels the projectile in the pipe to accelerate.

According to this characteristic, more stable gunpowder is needed, and instant bursts are not pursued. Otherwise, the power of the instant burst will exceed the chamber pressure and cause the chamber to explode.

The effect pursued by bombs is exactly the opposite. The stronger the explosion, the better. Therefore, there are also differences in the improvement of the two gunpowder formulas. "

"If soldiers can be equipped with these bombs, I'm afraid they won't be afraid even if they face a large number of legions." Leonard didn't understand this, but he saw the war potential of this explosive.

"Actually, you have forgotten one issue, and that is the price of sugar. Just now you have exploded one gold coin and seven ordinary bombs."

As soon as these words came out, a basin of cold water was poured on the two of them. Nowadays, sugar is a very expensive material and is even regarded as a medicine.

"The lord said that this technology is only prepared to deal with special enemies, and it is impossible to equip the army on a large scale."

The two seemed to understand what the special enemy the lord was talking about, and became silent for a while.

But Eugene had a smile on his face, the money wasn't his anyway.

The technological innovation is undoubtedly a surprise for people like Eugene who like to research. Now he feels more and more that he made the right choice to give up Totnes and come here.

"Right now, these two technologies are still top secret. Not many people know about them. I hope you two can keep them a secret."

"clear."

The two nodded solemnly. They had participated in many seminars held by the lord on army construction.

Understand that gunpowder weapons will be the protagonist of future wars, and the importance of this innovative technology can be imagined.